Complete Reviews

The first generation of Friends included the fiery, the pious, the scholars, the earnest, the iconoclasts, and a few oddballs. Some of that first generation spun off into other directions; others stayed and shaped the cacophony of searching voices into a faith community…or were there already the seeds of many different faith communities? Fast forward a few centuries, add the complexity of differing global cultures and history, and – here we are Spirit Rising: Young Quaker Voices. Each essay stands alone as a reflection of the writer’s search for the Source. But follow how joy and pain, searching and conversion, conviction and questioning, weave cacophony into jazz.

Margaret Fraser
Executive Secretary, Friends World Committee for Consultation Section of the Americas

The Spirit of God is upon these young friends, to speak from their inner faith, mind and in word putting the future of the Society of Friends in a dynamic state. These are true, and real words of the young generation which we have to nurture and support to grow.

Bainito Wamalwa, clerk of the Young Quaker Christian Association (Africa)

Spirit rises like heat rises. It just does. No channel or label or barrier, real or perceived, can do anything about it. The evidence of this truth is on every page of this volume. These voices have been called by the Spirit, moved by the Holy Ghost, stunned into silence by the Living Presence. No seeing eyes or listening ears could deny it. It is the very hope of Quakerism that the writers can hear and see and accept this same Spirit in each other’s voices. Readers who claim to hold Quakerism dear owe each writer an open, expectant, non-dismissive hearing. I am grateful for their courage.

Peggy Senger Parsons, pastor, Freedom Friends Church, Salem, Oregon, USA

While reading Spirit Rising I felt my spirit rising.  This delightful and challenging collection of writings is an excellent example of how the Inner Light breaks through into our souls no matter our age, station, or geographical location.  These are powerful stories, poems, and essays spoken plainly yet eloquently by diverse young voices.  They are a blessing and a reminder that God is at work in this world and that our little Society's contributions in encouraging the life of the Spirit continue -- borne on the words of a new generation of publishers of Truth.

Brent Bill, author of Sacred Compass and Holy Silence, USA

This important book lifts up the voices of young Quakers from many contexts, and is the first anthology of young Quaker self-expression to take seriously the majority of the world’s Quakers, who live in Africa and Latin America. The process of creating this book mirrors its content, in the sense that the editorial board formed an intentional multicultural community which sought to discern the many voices of young Friends through which the One voice of God can be heard. From my perspective, the submissions from the African youth are particularly significant, as they empower the voices of youth from places where young voices are not normally heard or valued. The issues raised by these young people, and their abiding hope in the Lord, point to the ways in which Quakerism will renew itself – and be renewed by the Holy Spirit – in the next few decades.
 
Eden Grace, Field Officer, Africa Ministries Office, Friends United Meeting

I have been amazed and inspired by this book: its depth, its prophetic ministry, its variety of languages, cultures, and theologies. Above all, it has given me hope about Friends and our future. I have sometimes wondered about the reality of the so-called World Family of Friends, whether it truly exists as any real entity beyond a sentimental claim to the inheritance of George Fox and the other first Friends. I have wondered how widely the word Quaker can be used with any authenticity in such diverse, even contradictory, communities. My confidence had been restored by reading in this book the commitment and vision of such a range of younger Friends from all over the world.

I did wonder when reading it, how representative of meetings from all over the world this anthology is (though I can imagine how difficult it must have been getting the material from some places) and I kept noticing how commitment varied from commitment to Christ, to the light, and simply to Quakerism itself.  I found however the same dilemmas irrespective of Quaker tradition and even continent: the smothering nature of religious traditionalism even among Friends; the fear of Friends being unattractive as a spiritual way in a world that offers young people (and others) so many alternatives; the fossilising nature of historical Quaker splits; the need to have a message to offer the world based on leadings from the Spirit and not just on nice intellectual and political points of view.  The valiant sixty of seventeenth century Quakerism were the same age as many of the writers of this anthology and they started a religious revolution.  There is great hope here for a new century of Quaker witness. I shall recommend this book everywhere I go as one of the best tools I have found to take on the spiritual journey.

Harvey Gillman